Thando Sikwila wowed the coaches with her soulful blind audition on Tuesday and now she’s ready to go all the way!
When the Sikwila sisters used to imagine they were girl groups TLC or Destiny’s Child as children in Zimbabwe, there was never any question who would take the solos.
She may have been the youngest of the sisters at the time but even at six, Thando was already a superstar in her big sister’s eyes. And nothing has changed since.
So, when Nosi, 25 and Noku, 23, found themselves backstage cheering Thando, 21, onThe Voice, it wasn’t a matter of if a chair would turn for their talented sister, but how many and when.
“We knew she could do it, this is what she was born to do,” Nosi says proudly. “But that didn’t make it any easier waiting backstage. I was so nervous for her.”
“She exudes such confidence on stage,” Noku adds, “but I knew the Voice was a really big moment for her. She had worked so hard for so long to get to that point. But I knew she would do it. It’s her destiny.”
For Thando, however, the thought of getting a chair to turn was far more daunting. “It was so confronting just knowing you are about to sing and millions of people are going to watch and make a judgment about you from the 90 seconds you are on stage. You can crap your pants and do a terrible job or you can do your very best and give it everything you’ve got. I was nervous at the beginning but I pushed through. When I saw Kylie turn around and she was dancing and singing along well, that was one of the best moments of my life. And then Joel turned too!”
“No matter how far I get on the show, I feel so incredibly blessed to be where I am now, Thando says. “It felt like forever for me before Kylie turned and when I saw her dancing and singing along with me it was just the greatest feeling. I remember thinking, ‘well, she can’t change her mind now. I’m in!’ Then Joel turned at the very last second and I was given this choice of two fantastic coaches.
“But there was no competition for me,” she stresses. “It was Kylie Minogue all the way. She is a legend. She is the one I felt I could relate to and learn from the most. It’s very important for women to stick together, especially in the music industry.”
Thando was only seven when her mother Noki, an ultrasound technician, was given the opportunity to work in Australia and the family immigrated to Canberra. By then little sister Thembi, now 16, was born and one of the first purchases the family made in their new home was a karaoke machine for Thando’s birthday.
“I would play on it for hours and hours and hours,” Thando recalls. “Looking back it was so important because it showed that even then my parents realised I was serious about being a singer. Mum has always been the biggest supporter of my dream. She bought me my first signing lessons, piano lessons, my first guitar….”
However, Thando’s dad Victor, a communications executive, insisted she finish school and have something to fall back on, regardless of her singing ambitions. She did, and soon after left Canberra for Melbourne to follow her music dream.
“A lot of daughters in our culture stay home until it’s time to get married and have babies,” Thando says. “But my sisters and I knew our place wasn’t in Canberra. To expand our horizons we had to get out.
“I now have a day job as a market researcher and I think it’s good for me to know I have to work to reach my dream and I can’t rely on music or my parents to pay the bills. I am proud that I have shown I’m serious and will do whatever it takes to pursue my dream.”
Thando is already well along the path to her future, singing in two bands – reggae outfit Echo Drama and a R&B five piece, Thando, she started with her drummer boyfriend Henry.
And while she hopes The Voice will provide the type of exposure that will allow her an audience for her own songs, which she has been writing since school, and not just obvious covers that suit her voice.
But even if that doesn’t happen, Thando will continue doing what she loves.
“No matter how far I get on the show, I feel so incredibly blessed to be where I am now,” she says. “Sometimes (success) is even more satisfying after you’ve been knocked back. If everything is handed to you on a plate in life it doesn’t teach you anything. I believe in hard work.”
For more on The Voice visit thevoice.com.au
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Realted video: The Voice’ unlocked
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